John Harbaugh: Monday Press Conference (12/18)

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This is Rob Parker from The Odd Couple with Chris Bussard and Rob Parker. The only thing better than watching basketball is watching basketball with a burger. And the only thing better than watching basketball with a burger is watching basketball with the best rated burger in fast food. The new Smashed Jack from Jack in a Box is the best rated burger in fast food. It's got a quarter pound smash patty with melty cheese on a soft brioche bun, and it even has their new ball sauce. Try it today. Participation may vary based on a taste test compared to fast food companies like McDonald's and Wendy's.

SPEAKER_2 (0:40)

You're a growing business, which means you need every spare hour you can find. That's why the most successful growing businesses are working together in Slack.

Slack is where work happens with all your people, data and information in one AI-powered place. Start a call instantly in huddles and ditch cumbersome calendar invites.

Or build an automation with Workflow Builder to take routine tasks off your plate. No coding required. Grow your business in Slack. Visit slack.com to get started.

SPEAKER_4 (1:13)

Welcome into the Ravens Press Pass Podcast. It is Monday, December 18th. The Ravens are coming off a 23 to seven victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday to improve to 11 and three on the season and clinch a playoff spot. It is certainly a good day here in Baltimore. Now, it doesn't get any easier for the Ravens as next up, they're heading on the road for a Christmas night matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. To recap the win over Jacksonville and also look ahead to the game coming up against the 49ers, we had a chance to talk with head coach John Harbaugh on Monday.

John Harbaugh (1:46)

Hey everybody. Good seeing you guys. Appreciate those of you guys who made it down there. It was good to see you last night late and you made it back today. So congratulations through the wind, right?

So we're very, very pleased with the victory.

It was a big win. It was a big win and an important win in a real tough venue against a really good team. And our guys played the kind of football they needed to play to win that game. You know, last night, I'm very proud of them for that. We all are as coaches and fans, I'm sure too. So we're excited about where we're at and then now we're getting pointed toward the next one, which is going to be an even better team, you know, in probably a tougher, even tougher environment out there on Christmas night. So you talk about Advent, this is the season, you know, for sure. And proud of the guys in terms of how they've handled the December football part of it and how they've carried themselves, how focused they've been, how humble they've been, and, you know, giving glory where it belongs. So we appreciate that. But we're focused on the task at hand.

What questions you have?

SPEAKER_3 (2:59)

John, in that second half, I think we talked a little bit last night about the running game, just really, you were dominant in that second half.

John Harbaugh (3:09)

I feel it coming on here.

SPEAKER_3 (3:12)

When watching the film, why do you feel that, you know, that running game was really so dominant in that second half?

John Harbaugh (3:19)

Well, I mean, it's kind of the nature of the running game, right?

You know, you have the chance to, you know, I guess you could say wear a defense down, but it's harder to stop the run a lot of times as the game goes on. You start to pick up first downs. You keep a defense on the field. That was a defense that was known for getting people off the field quickly. They were, I think, leading the league in three and outs as a defense coming into the game. So one of our goals was to not have that happen, you know, to keep them on the field as much as we could. And I think when the time of possession started to add up, it made it more difficult to stop the run. I thought our guys really just got better and better blocking the run and running the ball, and we popped some runs. Obviously, Keaton had some big runs for us, and that's obviously a very heartbreaking loss for us.

But he was a big part of that as well.

SPEAKER_6 (4:06)

John, when you were this off season where you were looking for a new offensive coordinator, looking for a new offense, how important was it for you to still have the ability to remain an elite Russian, have that elite Russian title?